Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
(none)
Happy Birthday:
Christopher Ford\Crowbar (52)
Sarah Stock (47)
Dalton Castle (46)
James Drake (33)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Helen Hild 3-4-1984 at the age of 58
Ronnie Etchison 3-4-1994 at the age of 73
Danno McDonald 3-4-2004 at. the age of 81
Yvon Cormier\The Beast 3-4-2009 at the age of 70
George Thompson\Tom Jones 3-4-2017 at the age of 77
Christopher Pallios\King Kong Bundy 3-4-2019 at the age of 61
Significant Debuts:
Don Joyce age: 28 in 1958
Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Community Update
Let’s begin by looking at what we have coming up on The Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel History Show.
The 1985 Territory Review Series will be wrapping up today. This series has been very well received, and all the episodes are some of our most viewed, listened to and shared podcasts we have ever done. Today, the 1985 Portland Wrestling Show will be dropping in your feeds today. Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson are two of the most knowledgeable folks out there about Portland Wrestling. Their “Encyclopedia of Portland Wrestling” book is my most valuable resource to review and research the territory.
Coming up next week, it’s the first ever wrestling podcast surprise party! Next week, I have invited Brian R. Solomon over to the Richards Ranch to talk about his 2nd Observer Book of the Year Award. His book, “Irresistible Force: The Life and Times of Gorilla Monsoon” took the award by a large margin. What Brian doesn’t know is that I have invited 3 of his other friends in wrestling over also to surprise him, so mum’s the word. The Surprise Party is next week, March 11th.
The following week, March 18th, we are opening the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Mailbag once again. You can “Ask Tony Anything” or you can ask any question about wrestling in the territory era. I’ve created a chat thread on Substack to collect questions; you can also ask them via X and in our Facebook Group as well. The Mailbag episode airs on March 18th.
Coming soon, we will begin our 1976 Territory Series as we review the happenings, matches and shows around the territory system. I’m looking forward talking with our expert analysts, wrestlers, promoters, referees in each of the territories plus tracking the amazing reign of Terry Funk as NWA World Champion, Nick Bockwinkel as AWA Champ and Bruno Sammartino in the WWWF. Bruno will be fun to watch his rivalry with Superstar Billy Graham take place, as well as the historic Ali-Inoki event in 1976. The 1976 Territory Series is coming soon!
I should have more of the schedule firmed up and I can update you here next Wednesday.
I want to mention also, we have had an amazing run so far this year, our subscriber count for both free and paid has been steadily growing. We are so close to hitting 500 subscribers to my research and writing here on Substack. Hitting 500 subs is only possible because of you. Yesterday, I was #41 “Rising in the Sports Category” on Substack. It’s my second highest ranking, having hit #30 before. It means you are enjoying what we are doing. You are reading, liking, subscribing and sharing my work. Please keep it up! Thank you so much.
Our YouTube Channel just hit 675 subscribers. We post the current Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel History Show every Wednesday and then clips of our shows air there Thursday through Tuesday every day. Sometimes its clips of the latest show. Sometimes its clips of recent shows and sometimes its clips of my appearances on other shows. We keep it fresh and updated as much as possible. Thanks for your support of our YouTube channel.
Our Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Facebook Community is on fire with growth. We’ve grown by over 200 members since the beginning of 2026, and we now have 2,542 members with more joining every day!
Programming Notes for this week, Sunday 3/1/26 through Saturday 3/7/26:
The Daily Chronicle:
Sunday Issue 320: Flashback 1976: Q1 Territory Analysis Tulsa, Oklahoma Territory
Monday Issue 321: Flashback 1946 March, The Month in Pro Wrestling
Tuesday Issue 322: Flashback 1945; The Tragic USO Plane Crash That Took 6 Pro Wrestlers and Others’
Wednesday Issue 323: Community Update on Coming Podcasts and other items
Thursday Issue 324: The Life & Career of Lord James Blears
Friday Issue 325: The Life & Career of Hercules Hernandez
Saturday Issue 326: The Life & Career of Don Joyce
31 Territory Era Announcers Series: Tuesday 3/3/26: Profile 11: Marty O’Neill AWA Minneapolis, MN
Paid Subs: The Evolution of Wrestling: The Story of the 2 out of 3 Falls Match
Paid Subs: Tracking The World Champions On The Sixes- February
Thank You for Reading
I’m Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
Remember, premium investors get access to exclusive and special content such as some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Premium Investors.